Assessment of joint integrity for plastic automotive components
09/06/2015
TWI experts on thermoplastics joining and welding presented well-attended talks at the prestigious International Conference on Thermoplastics Joining in Italy at the end of May 2015.
This biennial international conference, one of the leading events worldwide in the plastics joining community, featured experts, researchers and manufacturers with a single plenary session on a diverse range of topics.
Dr Farshad Salamat-Zadeh, a Chartered Polymer and Adhesive Engineer, opened the morning conference session with a presentation on ‘Welding of moulded plastic components – best practice and assessment of joint integrity’.
Malcolm Spicer opened the afternoon session with a presentation on ‘Development of a system for the non-destructive testing of welded joints in thermoplastic storage tanks using phased array ultrasonic testing’, a paper co-authored by Mr Spicer and TWI’s Fredrik Hagglund and Mike Troughton.
The conference, organised by Istituto Italiano Della Saldatura (Italian Institute of Welding) provided a good opportunity for TWI to share the results of some of the research it has been carrying out in improving the joining and inspection of plastics, and to promote its training courses in plastics welding.
Dr Salamat-Zadeh is also set to present at the Plastics Design and Moulding Conference in June in the UK under the title of ‘Plastics, Lightweighting Saviour; welding of automotive plastics components. Best practice and assessment of joint integrity’.
TWI offers a number of services relating to the welding of polymers, including testing, training, equipment and expert advice. The Welding of Moulded Plastics Components course was developed as a result of TWI’s work for the automotive industry reviewing welding procedures and design guidelines for moulded plastic components to guard against failure in service. This training course offers guidance and best practice on welding techniques and is suitable for those working in high-tech industries such as automotive, medical and domestic appliance, where there is a requirement for the design of complex systems involving parts to be welded. Jaguar Landrover became the first organisation to complete the specialised training in summer 2014.
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